Lentil Balls

With fall around the corner, that means cozy clothes and comforting food are straight ahead! Fall is my favorite season thanks to both of those things plus many more (Go Pack Go). These Lentil Balls are perfect to make for a meal, as appetizers, to have made ahead and frozen, and can be tossed in any sauce your heart desires!

Plus protein and fiber for daayysss.

To begin this recipe, we need to cook the vegetables. In a sauce pan, warm water over up so it begins to simmer and keep at medium-low. Rinse your green lentils over cold water and add to the water, along with the balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire. Both the vinegar and Worcestershire add a depth of flavor that will be ingrained right into the lentils themselves. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

While the lentils are cooking, we can cook the onion, carrot, and garlic. These will ultimately be blended, so just dice them up to cook through. In a sauce pan with olive oil over medium heat, add the diced carrot and onion. Cook for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally and add in the sliced garlic. Cook everything for another 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.

In a blender, blend the oats to create a coarse flour. Dump the oats into a large bowl and mix in the nutritional yeast and chopped fresh basil. In the now empty blender, add in the cooked onions, carrots, and garlic, along with the cooked and drained lentils.

To the blender, add the additional balsamic vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and flax egg. To make a flax egg just mix 1 tbs flax meal with 2.5 tbs of water, stir, and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Blend the mixture until its smooth but not completely pureed, I personally like a little texture to it.

Add the lentil mixture to the bowl with the oats and stir everything together until its well combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and form the lentil mixture into golf size balls. Line them out on a baking sheet, this made 25 balls for myself. Bake for 15 minutes, remove and flip each ball and then return for another 15 minutes.

Either freeze in a freezer safe container or toss in with your favorite marinara, pesto, alfredo. Another great option is your favorite barbeque sauce for an appetizer at your next party!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

1 cup Green Lentils

2 cups Water

1/4 cup + 1 tbs Balsamic Vinegar

1 tbs Worcestershire

1/2 Onion

2 Carrots

3 tbs Olive Oil

2 Cloves of Garlic

1 Flax Egg (1 tbs Flaxseed Meal and 2.5 tbs Water)

1 tbs Nutritional Yeast

1/2 cup Oats

1 tbs Fresh Basil

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

STEP BY STEP

Place a saucepan over medium low heat and addcups water, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and 1 tbs Worcestershire. Rinse the lentils and add them to the sauce pan. Simmer everything for 30 minutes or until tender. Once cooked, drain and set aside.

In another pan over medium heat, add 1 tbs of olive oil. Add 1/2 an onion chopped anddiced carrots, sauté for 10 minutes. Add in minced garlic cloves and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until onions are translucent.

Add the oats to a blender and blend on high to create a flour. Add the oat flour to a bowl and stir in the fresh chopped basil and nutritional yeast.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flax egg and let it sit for 5 minutes. Afterwards, add it to the blender with the sautéed carrots and onions, as well as the lentils. To the blender, also add in the 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, 2 tbs olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend on high until basically smooth but there can still be some texture.

Add the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the seasoned oat flour and stir everything together.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Form balls with your hands, sizing is up to you I made mine the size of golf balls to adjust cooking time accordingly).

Lay the lentil balls out on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, remove and turn them over, and bake for another 15 minutes. Add to your favorite sauces and enjoy!